Floating By

I wasn't really "into" this painting today and got a little lazy with it, but I'm going to post it anyway. In a cultural village in South Korea last month I snapped a quick photo of a man poling his boat downstream with a couple passengers, and this is my "lazy" interpretation. :)

Floating By, 8 x 8 pastel on brown cardstock

Shore Pools

This one is a little different from my usual method of working. I did a lot of blending and just kept only the basic shapes of the water and sand, with a loose suggestion of a family on the beach. I kind of like it.

Shore Pools, 8 x 10, pastel on brown cardstock

Well, my post a month kind of fizzled because life intervened and made it too difficult. I am not disappointed, though. I made the right choices, given the circumstances. There are many more days ahead for painting. :)

Fish for Sale

In the mood to lighten up a bit and paint looser. Here's a simplified verson of a fish seller from an outdoor market in South Korea.

 

Fish for Sale, 7 x 9 pastel on brown cardstock

Footprints in the Sand

Late afternoon in the sand by the ocean. Any guesses on who this is?

Footprints in the Sand, 6.5 x 9.5 pastel on brown cardstock

Korean Biker Dudes

While walking to the market in South Korea, this comical duo zipped by. When my camera went up, the man stopped briefly to let me get the picture. Then he surprised me by asking in very broken English if I knew how to speak Korean. I had to admit that I was a new visitor and did not know the language, and he cheerfully wished me a good visit!

Naturally, I had to try and paint the picture of this biker dude and his cutie-patootie little dog riding on the back seat! His shirt matched his bike and he even had tassles out of the handle bars. In the field beside the road there are the ever-present wildflower...cosmos. They bloomed all over!

 

Korean Biker Dudes, 7 x 7 pastel on brown cardstock

Bridge Crossing

While walking along the Springwater Corridor in Portland on Saturday afternoon, I had my camera in hand when these two runners passed by. It was a fun reference for this little painting.

Bridge Crossing, 6 x 6 pastel on brown cardstock

Tidepool Runners

Still playing on the beach as you can see!

Tidepool Runners, 4 x 10 pastel on brown cardstock

Okay, I'll admit it. This painting was done two months ago. My goal was to do a painting a day to post in November, but sometimes the weekend is not condusive to spending time in my studio! Luckily, I had this painting on file that hadn't been posted before. I called it September's Roses, because that's when I plucked them from the garden and brought them inside to do a still life. Looks like maybe a couple lilacs in the bunch, but it was past time for lilacs in the garden, so I must have taken them from another arrangement to add to this one. Silly, I can't even remember!

September's Roses, 8 x 10 pastel on golden Canson

The Golden One

I did this one a few days ago from a local scene that inspired me. It's not nearly as fun as the beach scenes (and I'm not crazy about how this one turned out), but since I spent the day playing
 instead of painting, so you get to see fall colors again.

 

The Golden One, 8 x 10 pastel on cardstock

Three in the Sea

Thoroughly enjoying this series. Wait? I'm doing a series? Yep, looks like I am. No end in sight, and I have lots more reference material!

 

Three in the Sea, 8 x 8 pastel on brown cardstock

Wet Toes

I love these little beach scenes with figures! Expect to see more while I explore the possibilities. :)

 

Wet Toes, 8 x 10 pastel on brown cardstock

Ocean View

I had a great time playing with this one. While at the beach a few weeks ago, some of our family members climbed on the rocks to see what they could see. Becky took the photo, and I used artistic license to create this fun pastel version.

 

Ocean View, 8 x 10 pastel on brown cardstock

Timothy Lake Trail

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of walking on this trail that follows the shoreline of Timothy Lake. The sunlit trail was just asking to be painted. :)

 

Timothy Lake Trail, 8 x 10 pastel on golden cardstock

Pretty Kitty

Luckily I had my pocket camera with me while on my morning walk today, so I could snap a quick photo of a cat observing his own reflection in a large puddle. It was a fun image to try painting with my pastels!

 

Pretty Kitty, 6 x 6 pastel on golden cardstock

Bananas on Spots

This little study took all of 15 minutes. I found a spotted cloth, tossed a bunch of bananas on it and then dashed off the colors without hardly stopping to think. I enjoyed the process, even though the finished product is not a serious work. It was simply for fun. :)

Bananas on Spots, 6x6 pastel on brown cardstock

Backyard Glory

The sun came out today and illuminated the golden trees in the meadow beyond the maple trees. Of course the maples have been busy, too. Ken assures me he got the leaves cleaned up...but that was yesterday!

Backyard Glory, 8 x 10 pastel on purple cardstock

Autumn Sky

Will it rain soon, or begin to clear up? The sun was going down behind me when I snapped the reference photo for this painting. Amazing colors in the foliage!

Autumn Sky, 8 x 10 pastel on purple cardstock

Bay City Sunset

A month ago we stayed overnight in Bay City, which is north of Tillamook. We walked down to the bay and watched this lovely sunset.

Bay City Sunset, 8 x 10 pastel on purple cardstock

Halloween Colors

On Halloween day I stepped out into the middle of the street in front of my house and snapped a quick photo of the colorful trees in the neighborhood. This painting was done referring only to the photo in the camera...I didn't even take the time to download it onto the computer. What made it fun was that because the image was so tiny I didn't get involved in "detail-itis". I like it.

Halloween Colors, 8.5 x 11 pastel on red cardstock